Improved machine for rossing bark



of a roller-tooth.

NrTnD v STATES PATENT FFICE. i

JOHN GOWIE, 0F PORTLAND, MAINE.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,888, dated Septemberl5, 1863.

had to the accompanying drawings, forming-a part of this specification,in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention; Fig. 2, avertical section of the same, taken in the linear x, Fig. 3; Fig. 3, aplan or top view of the same; Fig. 4, detached views Similar letters ofreference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention consists in the employment or use of a stationary knifein connection with a feed and discharge roller and bed-plates, allarranged as hereinafter fully set forth, whereby it is believed thatseveral advantages are obtained over the ordinary bark-rossing machinesin use.

To enable those skilled in the art to -fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe if. y

A represents the frame of the machine, of

.skeleton form, the two sides of which may be cast each in one piece,and connected together by struts or braces a, the lower ends of the legsbeing'provided with suitable flanges for bolting the frame securely tothe oorin g.

B is a bed-plate attached to the upper part of the frame A by pivots ordowels b, one being at each side of the bed-plate near its outer end.This bed-plate B is allowed to work freely on these pivots or dowels,and an upand-down adjusting movement allowed the inner end of saidbed-plate, by means of arms attached to a shaft, and which willpresently be described for the purpose of graduating or governing thecutting action of the knife in the passage of the tan-bark. over it.

C is a second movable bed-plate at the discharge end of the machine,suspended by pivots c between the two sides of the frame A in much thesame manner as the bed-plate B,

\ with this difference, that the supporting'pivots c of C are placedbetween the center and the inner edge, and the outer edge held down byweights D, supported at different points on graduated arms d, attachedone to each side of C.

E is a feed-roller, which may be of iron, and is of cylindrical form,and has its periphery provided with teeth e for seizing the bark andaiding its progress to the knife. This roller has its journals tted inbearings u7,"which are in levers F F, said roller receiving its niotionfrom pinions g, working in gear-wheels h It at each end of the roller E.The upanddown movement can be communicated to this roller E by theaction of the levers F' F, to be presently described.

G is a roller similar in form to E, but `not susceptible of a verticalmovement, as it revolves in permanent bearings attached to the frame A.The object of this roller G is to re move the bark from the knife afterthe rossingl operation is completed. The teeth e in these rollers willbe sharpened by means of two bevels, j i, `at opposite ends, and bylieveling or inclining the outer ends, lc. as will be fully understoodby-referring to Fig. 4. By this mode of sharpening a better hold on thebark will be obtained. At each end of the roller G there is agear-wheel, l, which work into two pinions, g g, the latter in turncommunieating mot-ion to the wheels h 7i of the roller and are securedVbetweeusaid jaws by the axle of the roller G, which passes through them.The outer ends of the levers F are free,"

and serve as handles for elevating or depress' ing the roller E, amovement which can also be effected by the operators foot through themedium of a treadle, H, attached to a shaft, I, -which has a shortcrank, g, at each end connected with the levers F by rods r. The pinionsg g have their axes working in bearings sin the levers F F, as shownmore particularly in Fig. 3.

J is a knife which rosses the bark.. It has .a straight edge, andextends the entire length of the rollers, being bolted to a strong ironbed-piece, t, nearly on a level with the bedplates when they are in ahorizontal position.

The knife J is secured to the bed-piece by means of four or more headedscrews, u, which pass through beveled slots c in the knife, as shown inFigs. 2 and 3. By this mode of fastening the knife, as it wears by use,can be The inmoved or adjusted forward andused until vit is completelyworn out.

The knife can be sharpened without removing it from the bed-piece t bydisconnecting the levers F from the rods r, and turning said levers Fand feed-roller E over upon the bedplate C, when ready access can be hadto the edge ofthe knife J 5 or, if necessary, the knife can be thenremoved by slacking the screws u. The position of the knife is nearlymidway between the feed-roller E and dischargeroller G.

K is a hand-lever for turning or moving the shaft L, to which arms a areattached, which support the inner end ofthe bed-plate B. By turning thisshaft L the inne:I end ofthe bedplate B may be adjusted relatively withthe knife J to suit the thickness ofthe bark to be operated upon. Thislever K is held yin place at different points by a rack, b', providedfor that purpose at one side ofthe machine.

M is a friction-roller placed immediately behind the knife, resting onand revolving in journals at theinner ends of the arms d of thebed-plate C. This roller M will consequently rise or fall with thebed-plate C, and f'acilitate the onward movement of the bark. The upperedge of the roller M is slightly above the level ofthe bed plate C, andthe weights l) serve to keep said roller against the bark and the latterpressed against roller G. Stops c are attached to the frame A for theouter ends of the arms d to bear or rest upon, and the stops c may bepadded at their upper ends or have india-rubber attachedto them toprevent jars and concussions. For the same purpose india-rubber stripsor pads d may be attached to the ltop of the frame A for the.

levers F to strike against.

The machine most generally used for rossing bark is composed of twoconvex rollers attached to four movable hand-levers, thus giving avertical movement to each roller. In in y machine two of these leversare dispensed with, the rollers are perfectly cylindrical, and only oneof them capable of an up-and-down adjustable movement, and a uniformmovement is communicated to this rolier by means of. the treadle, thusallowing the operator to llave free use of his hands at all times, apoint of great importance when much work is to be performed. In theordinary machine also a number of short knives with cutting-ed ges arebolted to various sides of a rapidly-revolvin g cylinder, which, inconsequence of its speed in contact with the dry bark, breaks up thelatterA and causes it to roll around the knives, thereby causing a greatwaste of bark, which falls down with the rustiugs in consequence of the`ylarge space the knives occupy, and which injures the machine to algreat extent, all of which difficulties are obviated by my improvement.In my machine but one stationary knife is used, and therefore a greatsaving is effected in the first cost and in the power for driving themachine, and the invention when viewed as a whole is far simpler inconstruction, possesses less parts, and is not so liable to get outJ ofrepair as those hitherto used.

In using my invention the bed-plate B is first adjusted so that itsinner edge will have a proper relative position with the knife J tocause the ross to be stripped from the bark,

said bed-plate being retained in proper position by the lever K and rackb. The bark is placed ross side downward under the feedroller E, whichcarries it onward to the knife, and in its passage over the same thesharp edge removes the ross similar to an ordinary plane. In the eventof the teeth of the feedroller E not taking sufficient hold of the barkto complete the operation, a gentle pressure of the operators foot onthe treadle will give an additional force to the feed-roller, and thusmove the` bark onward to the dischargingroller,`which in its turn canhave its power increased by the weights D, suspended on the arms d.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. '.lhe stationary knife J, in combination with an adjustable toothedfeed-roller E, arranged with the levers F F and treadle H, to operate asand for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The adjustable bed-plate B C, arranged as shown, in combination withthe frictionrollerM, discharge-roller G, feed-roller E, and knife J,allarranged for joint operation, as and for the purpose specified.

JOHN COWIE.

Witnesses:

J. P. PENVEY, GEORGE GoULAY.

